Things To Do In London: Friday 12 December 2014

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CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL: Over 50 exhibitors of the good stuff take over the Islington Business Design Centre for a weekend of chocolate heaven. As well as a chance to do that Christmas shopping, expect demos, tasters, and even a cocoa spa. £7/£8, prebook, 12-14 December

SCI-FI WEEKENDER: Supported by the BFI and Film London, The Out of This World Sci Fi weekender begins today at The Proud Archivist in Haggerston, with three days of talks, screenings and parties exploring galaxies far, far away. £40, prebook, 12-14 December

INVENTING ELEGANCE: The V&A Museum in South Kensington runs a day-long conference, part of the current Horst fashion photography exhibition, exploring photographers’ creative collaborations with artists, designers, models and directors. The careers of Edward Steichen and Horst P. Horst will be examined alongside their contemporaries, including Adolphe de Meyer, George Hoyningen-Huene, Man Ray and Cecil Beaton. £25, prebook, 10.30am-5.30pm

GERMAN FOLKLORE: Head to the British Museum for an evening of festivities inspired by German folk and folklore. There's a live performance by Berlin-based musician Dagobert, who will present a set of German-language love songs incorporating elements of traditional German folk or ‘Schlager’ music as well as 1980s synth and electropop. Free, just turn up, 6pm

LIVE JAZZ: Foyles in Charing Cross Road has a live gig performed by Ray’s Jazz. Expect a set of jazz classic repertoire with some fresh arrangements of music by John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter. Free, prebook, 6.30pm

QUEER ZOO: UCL's Grant Museum of Zoology holds an evening of performances, readings, interventions and provocations by artists and academics on naming and taxonomy. The starting point for this event is the way in which lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people self-classify and order themselves into types, or are named by others. Free, prebook by emailing lgbtq-research@ucl.ac.uk, 6.30pm-9.30pm

MUSIC NIGHT: Head to The Good Ship in Kilburn for a cheap music night: listen to soul, r’n’b and pop. Expect a mix of DJs and bands playing monstrous grooves and all the soul, funk and blues you can handle until 4am. £4, prebook, from 7.30pm

SUPPER CLUB: Monograph hosts a Japanese Supper Club in the vicinity of Old Street (address provided on booking). Experience a selection of unique contemporary Japanese dishes in tasting portions whilst sitting with like-minded strangers on communal tables. BYOB. £29, prebook, 7.30pm

COMEDY: If you’re upset about Dapper Laughs’s Christmas bash being cancelled at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, this is not for you. Everyone else, go to the temporarily re-opened Throgmortons in the City for the Weirdos Panto, part of the Heroes of Comedy festival. Cast includes John Kearns, Harriet Kemsley, Gareth Morinan and a Santa’s sackload more. £10, prebook, 7.45pm

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at The Hop Exchange in Southwark Street, Angel Community Centre in Edmonton, Ripple Centre in Barking, and the usual donor centres. See site for terms and conditions. Scared of donating blood? Watch our video.

Find more London events in our Free & Cheap events listings.Want to see your event in these last-minute listings? Email us at hello@londonist.com at least 48 hours before the event, and we will consider it for inclusion. Note: due to high volumes of email, we can’t always reply.

Give the gift of Pact this Christmas

Love coffee? We recommend you try out Pact Coffee. We first met them last year and have since become loyal customers of theirs. This London start-up is on a mission to get the UK drinking better, fresher coffee by delivering it straight to our homes and offices. Now, clearly in the festive spirit, they’re offering new customers their first 250g bag for only £1 with free next-day delivery, just use the code LONDONISTXMAS at checkout. Get yours here, or for more info and T&Cs click here.

They also offer coffee Christmas gift bundles for the caffeine lover in your life, check those out here.

This week’s Things To Do In London is sponsored by Pact.

Good Cause of the Day

From 15-26, Walking With The Wounded encourages people to walk home for Christmas. Register for £15 and walk all or part of your normal journey to work — money raised goes towards the charity.